5 ways I’ve been taking shortcuts while birding

5 ways I’ve been taking shortcuts while birding



There are so many new birds arriving this time of year that I find myself taking shortcuts while birding. Here are 5 examples:

1) Ears only: When I’m walking through the woods I rely mostly on my ears to hear signs of bird activity. If I don’t hear anything then I keep moving.

2) Scanning for movement: I scan treetops for movement. I ignore common birds like robins and chickadees while trying to locate movement of warblers or other migrant birds.

3) Skip the list: Sometimes I don’t keep a complete list of birds if I’m looking for particular species. I just look for new species and don’t bother tracking birds I’ve already seen. Sorry eBird. I know that is frowned upon.

4) Right bird right location: After a while you get to know when and where you can find certain species of birds in your area. For example, Chestnut-sided Warblers can be tricky to find in my town so I went to the exact same spot I saw one last year and there was one waiting for me when I arrived.

5) Driving through the state forest at 5mph with my windows down and eyes wide open: this method allows you to cover a lot of ground that you wouldn’t be able to cover by foot.

I’m not thrilled taking shortcuts. I’d rather just get out there and walk about slowly savoring every bird I see but there is just so much to see right now and getting warbler neck (pinched nerves from looking up in trees) is no joke.

I need to get it out of my system before I can slow down again but that is something I am looking forward to.

 

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Larry Nichols

Larry Nichols

Married, I am not a casual weekend birder,-still learning-still making mistakes. I am not a writer or photographer but enjoy blogging about my outdoor adventures. I am currently using a Canon PowerShot SX50 HS camera, Meopta Meostar 8x42 binoculars, and a vortex spotting scope. The Name Brownstone Birding Blog comes from the fact that I in which Portland has been known for its brownstone quarries for many years. Much of the brownstone used for older buildings in New York came from the town of Portland.

Larry Nichols

Larry Nichols

Married, I am not a casual weekend birder,-still learning-still making mistakes. I am not a writer or photographer but enjoy blogging about my outdoor adventures. I am currently using a Canon PowerShot SX50 HS camera, Meopta Meostar 8x42 binoculars, and a vortex spotting scope. The Name Brownstone Birding Blog comes from the fact that I in which Portland has been known for its brownstone quarries for many years. Much of the brownstone used for older buildings in New York came from the town of Portland.

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